The Pond Hockey Portal!
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Young players get Smart
Deciding on hockey as his sport of choice proved to be a relatively simple matter for Ben Horne. Hearing about the good ol' days from his father's time on the ice at Skyline stimulated his interest in learning to play.
"My dad used to play hockey and I'm really good at skating, so I said, 'Why not?' " the 11-year old Horne said. "And my dad signed me up."
Horne was one of several dozen children who stepped onto the ice, decked out in full hockey gear, for their first Start Smart class at the Salt Lake County Ice Center.
Start Smart is an instructional hockey program that aims to teach the fundamentals of ice hockey. The program is geared to help children ages 5 to 14 develop a basic set of hockey skills, which will give them a foundation before they play in a youth hockey league.
Doug Horne, Ben's father, likes the concept behind Start Smart.
"When I started in hockey, eons ago, they didn't have a Start Smart [program]," Doug said. "You got put on a team and 'good luck.' ''
Classes are held twice a week and last 45 minutes. Children are divided in three different groups based on age - 5- and 6-year-olds, 7- and 8-year-olds and 9 and older.
Each class covers a wide range of hockey knowledge. Early lessons focus on basics such as developing balance and agility, while later lessons branch out to include things like shooting, puckhandling, forehand passes and crossovers.
The lessons are spread out over four eight-week semesters. Children who enroll in the fall attend a class once per week for 32 weeks.
"It's important that you get a program like this together and get the youth involved in teaching them the basics," said Tim Hale, who volunteers as a coach with the program. "And that's what this program is for. To build around the basics before they start playing."
Joe Bernardy, the program coordinator for the County Ice Center, adapted lesson manuals produced by USA Hockey to use in the Start Smart program. Since its inception, the program has proved popular, with as many as 100 kids participating in 2002.
Bernardy, a former state coaching director for USA Hockey, considers Start Smart to be an effective program because it helps players digest all of the important aspects of hockey.
"It's a very programmed kind of thing to prepare them to play in a league," Bernardy said. "It's not just a pond hockey kind of thing.
Most gratifying, he said, is seeing former students continue to play hockey as teenagers and adults.
"The whole purpose of this thing is to make sure kids walk off with a smile on their faces," Bernardy said. "We aren't out here to turn these guys into NHL pros. We want to just develop a love for the sport."
"My dad used to play hockey and I'm really good at skating, so I said, 'Why not?' " the 11-year old Horne said. "And my dad signed me up."
Horne was one of several dozen children who stepped onto the ice, decked out in full hockey gear, for their first Start Smart class at the Salt Lake County Ice Center.
Start Smart is an instructional hockey program that aims to teach the fundamentals of ice hockey. The program is geared to help children ages 5 to 14 develop a basic set of hockey skills, which will give them a foundation before they play in a youth hockey league.
Doug Horne, Ben's father, likes the concept behind Start Smart.
"When I started in hockey, eons ago, they didn't have a Start Smart [program]," Doug said. "You got put on a team and 'good luck.' ''
Classes are held twice a week and last 45 minutes. Children are divided in three different groups based on age - 5- and 6-year-olds, 7- and 8-year-olds and 9 and older.
Each class covers a wide range of hockey knowledge. Early lessons focus on basics such as developing balance and agility, while later lessons branch out to include things like shooting, puckhandling, forehand passes and crossovers.
The lessons are spread out over four eight-week semesters. Children who enroll in the fall attend a class once per week for 32 weeks.
"It's important that you get a program like this together and get the youth involved in teaching them the basics," said Tim Hale, who volunteers as a coach with the program. "And that's what this program is for. To build around the basics before they start playing."
Joe Bernardy, the program coordinator for the County Ice Center, adapted lesson manuals produced by USA Hockey to use in the Start Smart program. Since its inception, the program has proved popular, with as many as 100 kids participating in 2002.
Bernardy, a former state coaching director for USA Hockey, considers Start Smart to be an effective program because it helps players digest all of the important aspects of hockey.
"It's a very programmed kind of thing to prepare them to play in a league," Bernardy said. "It's not just a pond hockey kind of thing.
Most gratifying, he said, is seeing former students continue to play hockey as teenagers and adults.
"The whole purpose of this thing is to make sure kids walk off with a smile on their faces," Bernardy said. "We aren't out here to turn these guys into NHL pros. We want to just develop a love for the sport."
Saturday, April 15, 2006
What is PickUpHockey.com?
The primary goal is to gather all recreational ice hockey players and inline hockey players together in one space for easy communication.
PickUpHockey.com is a North American portal site designed to create an online community for adult, recreational ice hockey and inline hockey (roller hockey) players of all skill levels and ages.
This site is a virtual place where recreational hockey players can visit to find other recreational players wishing to play the game in their region. It is a tremendous resource for promoting hockey and its associated benefits.
This is an absolutely free service provided to the recreational hockey community. Here you can find a recreational hockey team, fill out your team's roster, find a few shinny buddies or a pickup hockey game with people your own age and experience.
Please go to www.pickuphockey.com to register and be sure to tell your friends! Basically, our mandate is to promote recreational ice hockey and inline hockey on all levels for players 18 years of age and older in North America.
PickUpHockey.com is a North American portal site designed to create an online community for adult, recreational ice hockey and inline hockey (roller hockey) players of all skill levels and ages.
This site is a virtual place where recreational hockey players can visit to find other recreational players wishing to play the game in their region. It is a tremendous resource for promoting hockey and its associated benefits.
This is an absolutely free service provided to the recreational hockey community. Here you can find a recreational hockey team, fill out your team's roster, find a few shinny buddies or a pickup hockey game with people your own age and experience.
Please go to www.pickuphockey.com to register and be sure to tell your friends! Basically, our mandate is to promote recreational ice hockey and inline hockey on all levels for players 18 years of age and older in North America.
Friday, April 07, 2006
St. Paul's contingent among nine honorees
They don't play pond hockey at St. Paul's School anymore, at least not competitively. Like everyone else, the Big Red has its own indoor rink with all the accoutrements of a modern arena.
But tonight the New Hampshire Legends of Hockey will honor, among others, three men who made their names on the frozen waters of the campus's Lower School Pond. Bill Matthews, Dick Ryerson and the late Hobey Baker - along with six others - will be inducted into the Legends of Hockey Hall of Fame this afternoon, and they'll also be recognized prior to tonight's Monarchs game at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester. The Monarchs also plan on wearing Baker-era St. Paul's jerseys for the game against Providence.
Matthews, the school's current rector, coached the St. Paul's boys'team from 1973-1985 and from 1994-99, with a two-year stint as the girls' coach in between. His tenure included a 14-0-0 campaign in 1984.
Ryerson played for the Big Red from 1943-45 before enrolling at Princeton. He later taught and coached at Tilton, but locally he'll always be remembered for coaching Concord High to its first two state hockey titles, in 1977 and 1979.
Baker also went from St. Paul's to Princeton, where he led the Tigers to two national titles. During World War I he enlisted in the Lafayette Escadrille, a squadron in the French Air Service made up mostly of American pilots. Baker survived the war, winning the Croix de Guerre, but died in a crash on Dec. 21, 1918, in Toul, France, while on a test flight.
All three have in common the willingness to brave the harsh Concord winters to knock the puck around. "On a nice day there's absolutely nothing better than playing outside," Matthews said. "The memories of those days far outweigh the cold days where, if you were on the bench, it was a little less fun."
Ryerson got to experience the less romantic side of outdoor hockey during his stay as a coach, history teacher and athletic director at the Tilton School from 1958-1970.
"It was very time-consuming, shoveling snow, scraping the rink, putting the boards up, flooding the rink at night," Ryerson said. "When I played at St. Paul's we had eight rinks out on the pond, so I was used to playing outdoors, but we froze sometimes out there when it got really cold."
Ryerson came to Concord High in 1970 as an assistant, then took over behind the bench in 1973. Four years later the Tide defeated Bishop Guertin for the title, and added a second crown two years later by beating cross-town rival Bishop Brady, 6-1.
"That game against Bishop Brady was a great thing because it was all Concord," Ryerson said. "They turned out in droves for that game."
Like any good coach, Ryerson was sure to credit his "horses,"including future Boston University All-American Richie Green. Matthews, too, credited his players for his Big Red success, including Rich Ryerson (Dick's son), Matt Soule and Jeff Giuliano, now with the NHL's Los Angeles Kings.
"He wasn't one of those coaches that would always be yelling at you, and I think that's what helped me,"Giuliano said. "When you're that young, some of those coaches just yell at you, and guys just fall under the pressure and don't get any better. He just let you do your thing and pointed you in the right direction, and as long as you worked hard, he liked you.
"I used to be a mama's boy,"Giuliano continued. "I remember crying when I went there, and Mr. Matthews kind of took me under his wing and pointed me in all the right directions. It definitely helped me out, especially in my first few years."
It's telling that Matthews smoothly made the transition from the bench to the school's highest administrative position, and, fittingly, the rector said he focused as much on teaching his players off the ice as he did on it.
"What I hope they would have come away from their hockey experience with me is the importance of playing as a team," Matthews said, "and the ability to both win and lose with grace.
"My staying in touch, and the players who I've coached staying in touch with me, the friendships that I've made through hockey, those are the most important things to me."
Although he died almost 90 years ago, Baker - who played for St. Paul's in 1909 - is still one of the most recognizable names in college hockey thanks to the Hobey Baker Award, which has been given to the top men's college hockey player every year since 1981. His legacy still looms large at Princeton, where Dick Ryerson enrolled after a two-year stint in the Army.
"I had known about (Baker) from St. Paul's, and when I got to Princeton you played at Baker Rink, so you were constantly reminded of it," Ryerson said.
But tonight the New Hampshire Legends of Hockey will honor, among others, three men who made their names on the frozen waters of the campus's Lower School Pond. Bill Matthews, Dick Ryerson and the late Hobey Baker - along with six others - will be inducted into the Legends of Hockey Hall of Fame this afternoon, and they'll also be recognized prior to tonight's Monarchs game at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester. The Monarchs also plan on wearing Baker-era St. Paul's jerseys for the game against Providence.
Matthews, the school's current rector, coached the St. Paul's boys'team from 1973-1985 and from 1994-99, with a two-year stint as the girls' coach in between. His tenure included a 14-0-0 campaign in 1984.
Ryerson played for the Big Red from 1943-45 before enrolling at Princeton. He later taught and coached at Tilton, but locally he'll always be remembered for coaching Concord High to its first two state hockey titles, in 1977 and 1979.
Baker also went from St. Paul's to Princeton, where he led the Tigers to two national titles. During World War I he enlisted in the Lafayette Escadrille, a squadron in the French Air Service made up mostly of American pilots. Baker survived the war, winning the Croix de Guerre, but died in a crash on Dec. 21, 1918, in Toul, France, while on a test flight.
All three have in common the willingness to brave the harsh Concord winters to knock the puck around. "On a nice day there's absolutely nothing better than playing outside," Matthews said. "The memories of those days far outweigh the cold days where, if you were on the bench, it was a little less fun."
Ryerson got to experience the less romantic side of outdoor hockey during his stay as a coach, history teacher and athletic director at the Tilton School from 1958-1970.
"It was very time-consuming, shoveling snow, scraping the rink, putting the boards up, flooding the rink at night," Ryerson said. "When I played at St. Paul's we had eight rinks out on the pond, so I was used to playing outdoors, but we froze sometimes out there when it got really cold."
Ryerson came to Concord High in 1970 as an assistant, then took over behind the bench in 1973. Four years later the Tide defeated Bishop Guertin for the title, and added a second crown two years later by beating cross-town rival Bishop Brady, 6-1.
"That game against Bishop Brady was a great thing because it was all Concord," Ryerson said. "They turned out in droves for that game."
Like any good coach, Ryerson was sure to credit his "horses,"including future Boston University All-American Richie Green. Matthews, too, credited his players for his Big Red success, including Rich Ryerson (Dick's son), Matt Soule and Jeff Giuliano, now with the NHL's Los Angeles Kings.
"He wasn't one of those coaches that would always be yelling at you, and I think that's what helped me,"Giuliano said. "When you're that young, some of those coaches just yell at you, and guys just fall under the pressure and don't get any better. He just let you do your thing and pointed you in the right direction, and as long as you worked hard, he liked you.
"I used to be a mama's boy,"Giuliano continued. "I remember crying when I went there, and Mr. Matthews kind of took me under his wing and pointed me in all the right directions. It definitely helped me out, especially in my first few years."
It's telling that Matthews smoothly made the transition from the bench to the school's highest administrative position, and, fittingly, the rector said he focused as much on teaching his players off the ice as he did on it.
"What I hope they would have come away from their hockey experience with me is the importance of playing as a team," Matthews said, "and the ability to both win and lose with grace.
"My staying in touch, and the players who I've coached staying in touch with me, the friendships that I've made through hockey, those are the most important things to me."
Although he died almost 90 years ago, Baker - who played for St. Paul's in 1909 - is still one of the most recognizable names in college hockey thanks to the Hobey Baker Award, which has been given to the top men's college hockey player every year since 1981. His legacy still looms large at Princeton, where Dick Ryerson enrolled after a two-year stint in the Army.
"I had known about (Baker) from St. Paul's, and when I got to Princeton you played at Baker Rink, so you were constantly reminded of it," Ryerson said.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Make Eteamz Your Hockey Event Partner
Eteamz (part of The Active Network, Inc) is specializing in team sports and recreation by providing data management, transaction and marketing services to organizers and their participants.
Teams and leagues across more than 100 sports and 120 countries use our easy-to-use, fun community tools to create Web sites and communicate regularly with their participants. Members can also utilize sport specific message boards, view an extensive library of tips and drills from top coaches, purchase sports equipment and apparel, access online registration and payment tools for all types of activities and much more.
These hassle-free community tools link teams to the world and create an efficient and fun communication system among coaches, players, families and fans.
We take pride in listening to our members and have built the site around member feedback, which has created a very user-friendly environment. Because of this loyalty, Eteamz has become the most complete online resource for team sports. We encourage you to become a part of our family.
Contact:
Scott Yeske
Active Network
858-964-3938
Scott.Yeske@active.com
www.ActiveTeamSports.com
Teams and leagues across more than 100 sports and 120 countries use our easy-to-use, fun community tools to create Web sites and communicate regularly with their participants. Members can also utilize sport specific message boards, view an extensive library of tips and drills from top coaches, purchase sports equipment and apparel, access online registration and payment tools for all types of activities and much more.
These hassle-free community tools link teams to the world and create an efficient and fun communication system among coaches, players, families and fans.
We take pride in listening to our members and have built the site around member feedback, which has created a very user-friendly environment. Because of this loyalty, Eteamz has become the most complete online resource for team sports. We encourage you to become a part of our family.
Contact:
Scott Yeske
Active Network
858-964-3938
Scott.Yeske@active.com
www.ActiveTeamSports.com
